What a first class event!!! Truly a great tradition for the US Army
to participate in this yearly event where we bring together Active, Reserve,
National Guard and family members to develop camaraderie on the water. Thanks
for the professionalism and dedication you all have shown us throughout the
years! We will be ready to reclaim our title next year! GO ARMY beat Navy!!! - CPT Nick Triche, Commander, US Army Dragon Boat

Training for and racing on the day of the Regatta was a wonderful experience! Not only is Dragon Boat itself a fun sport, but I also got to become friends with people on my team that I would otherwise never have had the chance to meet. The practices were super helpful and the coaches (some of them even world champions!) were always patient. I would definitely do it again! - Wendy (Wei) Diao, Medical Student at Jefferson Medical College, Team Philadelphia Hep B Heroes

The camaraderie that our team developed in our first attempt dragon boating was awesome. Our instructors at the practices really helped the team come together. - John Barbieri, Medical Student at University of Pennsylvania, Team Philadelphia Hep B Heroes

The practices were extremely helpful. Our coaches helped us in every aspect: adjusting rowing motions, improving synchronization, and forming race day strategies. Thanks to the coaches, even a new team like ours could win bronze medals! - Daniel Chen, Team Philadelphia Hep B Heroes

Thank you so much, Ken, for providing such a wonderful platform for the Blue Star Mothers to spread our message.
We appreciated the opportunity to meet with Brigadier General Lord, and were able to meet many soldiers and their parents to encourage membership. We also connected with a volunteer from Habitat for Humanity regarding housing for wounded soldiers. In addition, we were invited to speak at deployment ceremonies and Family Readiness Groups, which will be so valuable in continuing our mission of supporting the mothers of active-duty troops.
We'd like to thank you also for your hospitality at the VIP tent; your volunteers were also very kind in offering us beverages and refreshments throughout the day. You have a wonderful team, and we were extremely impressed with your organization.
Thank you again, with warm regards,
- Patricia Callahan Jillard
The Philadelphia Chapter of The Blue Star Mothers

On behalf of Belle Bateau, thank you to you and the entire team for an amazing day! There were so many variables that worked - tent location, parking luck, beautiful weather, the absolute joy of competing, the camaraderie of the sport, having Andy as our steersperson for all 3 races, the incredible organization of the entire event and the good cheer of everyone of who announced the races, coordinated the boat area and helped us off the boat. I also want to thank your team for our amazing practices preparing us for the race. We won our last race of the day and it was thrilling.
We look forward to next year. We love this regatta. - Mo Ganey, Belle Bateau

You guys know how to throw a great race. We had a wonderful time and we're impressed with how well organized you were throughout the day. Thank you. - Linda Breitstein, Schuylkill Dragons

The event was so much fun, and the people running it (PDBA) could not have been more pleasant or helpful. The PDBA has actively been training all who wanted to paddle in their team boats for the past two months, at no cost. Our hats go off to them for their devotion to promoting this sport! Thanks. - Emily Liebert, Captain, Dragonthaw

The Filthy Oars had a fantastic 1st experience at the Independence Dragon Boat Regatta. We are looking forward to next year! - Jennifer Frank, Captain, Filthy Oars

I would like to say first off that we had a FANTASTIC time on Saturday! Everyone was great and we couldn't have asked for a better day, water level notwithstanding. We had no experienced rowers in our boat (Temple Admin) but are calling this a learning experience and next year we will be fierce! - Joanna Briggs, Temple Admin